ENAC Seminar Series by Dr E. Secchi
Event details
| Date | 13.11.2020 |
| Hour | 13:30 › 14:15 |
| Speaker | Dr Eleonora Secchi |
| Location |
Zoom
Online
|
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
13:30 – 14:15 – Dr Eleonora Secchi
Senior Assistant - Principal Investigator at ETH Zürich
The effect of fluid flow on motile bacteria controls bacterial transport and initial surface colonization
The vast majority of microbes are exposed to fluid flow, whether in natural environments, in the human body, or in artificial systems. Fluid flow plays an important role in a broad variety of microbial processes, including nutrient uptake and fertilization, as well as in many environmental processes and industrial applications, ranging from wastewater treatment to the production of biofuels. However, despite the pervasive occurrence and implications of flow, its influence on the transport and attachment of bacteria to surfaces remains poorly investigated and understood, especially in complex geometries that best describe real systems. The aim of this presentation is showing the influence of flow on bacterial transport and surface attachment in porous structures.
To examine surface colonization in model porous media, we investigated the effect of laminar flow on motile bacterial suspension around a single pillar in a microfluidics channel, mimicking a single pore of a porous medium. Using microfluidics experiments and a mathematical model, we demonstrate that local flow controls bacterial distribution and concentration in bulk, and ultimately the location of bacterial landing spots on surfaces. The fundamental physical nature of this interaction makes this is a general phenomenon: our model can be used to identify sites of preferential colonization on natural and artificial surfaces. Colonization drives the initial development of biofilms and lays the foundations for bioclogging of porous structures.
Short bio:
Eleonora Secchi is the Principal Investigator of the bioMatter Microfluidics Unit (bioM2), funded in 2018 by an SNSF PRIMA Grant in the Institute of Environmental Engineering at ETH Zurich. The focus of her research is understanding the physical mechanisms influencing bacterial surface colonization and biofilm formation in fluids and their implications in environmental processes. Her experimental approach relies on an innovative and targeted combination of experimental techniques, mainly based on microfluidics and advanced optical visualization techniques. Before focusing her research on biological systems, Dr. Secchi acquired extensive experience in fluid dynamics and optical visualization techniques working on a variety of soft matter systems. During her first postdoctoral fellowship at Ecole Normale Superiore de Paris (Paris, France), she developed an optical flow measurement technique to quantify the water flow emerging from carbon nanotubes - with a diameter smaller than 100nm- and experimentally measured for the first time the radius dependence of the slip length in carbon nanotubes. Currently, she is Review Editor for the journal Frontiers in Physics and Biophysics and she is in the Program Committee of InterPore and AGU conferences, for the session on biogeochemical processes and biofilms in porous media.
Senior Assistant - Principal Investigator at ETH Zürich
The effect of fluid flow on motile bacteria controls bacterial transport and initial surface colonization
The vast majority of microbes are exposed to fluid flow, whether in natural environments, in the human body, or in artificial systems. Fluid flow plays an important role in a broad variety of microbial processes, including nutrient uptake and fertilization, as well as in many environmental processes and industrial applications, ranging from wastewater treatment to the production of biofuels. However, despite the pervasive occurrence and implications of flow, its influence on the transport and attachment of bacteria to surfaces remains poorly investigated and understood, especially in complex geometries that best describe real systems. The aim of this presentation is showing the influence of flow on bacterial transport and surface attachment in porous structures.
To examine surface colonization in model porous media, we investigated the effect of laminar flow on motile bacterial suspension around a single pillar in a microfluidics channel, mimicking a single pore of a porous medium. Using microfluidics experiments and a mathematical model, we demonstrate that local flow controls bacterial distribution and concentration in bulk, and ultimately the location of bacterial landing spots on surfaces. The fundamental physical nature of this interaction makes this is a general phenomenon: our model can be used to identify sites of preferential colonization on natural and artificial surfaces. Colonization drives the initial development of biofilms and lays the foundations for bioclogging of porous structures.
Short bio:
Eleonora Secchi is the Principal Investigator of the bioMatter Microfluidics Unit (bioM2), funded in 2018 by an SNSF PRIMA Grant in the Institute of Environmental Engineering at ETH Zurich. The focus of her research is understanding the physical mechanisms influencing bacterial surface colonization and biofilm formation in fluids and their implications in environmental processes. Her experimental approach relies on an innovative and targeted combination of experimental techniques, mainly based on microfluidics and advanced optical visualization techniques. Before focusing her research on biological systems, Dr. Secchi acquired extensive experience in fluid dynamics and optical visualization techniques working on a variety of soft matter systems. During her first postdoctoral fellowship at Ecole Normale Superiore de Paris (Paris, France), she developed an optical flow measurement technique to quantify the water flow emerging from carbon nanotubes - with a diameter smaller than 100nm- and experimentally measured for the first time the radius dependence of the slip length in carbon nanotubes. Currently, she is Review Editor for the journal Frontiers in Physics and Biophysics and she is in the Program Committee of InterPore and AGU conferences, for the session on biogeochemical processes and biofilms in porous media.
Practical information
- General public
- Invitation required
- This event is internal
Organizer
- ENAC
Contact
- Cristina Perez